No. 23 Buckeyes Ready for Top 25 Showdown vs. No. 6 Illinois – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 30, 2015
Fri.,May 1 Sat., May 2 Sun., May 3 6:35 p.m. ET 3:05 p.m. ET 1:05 p.m.ET Live Stats
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RELATED INFO
· Follow the Buckeyes on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
· PDF: Ohio State Notes
· BUY TICKETS
· Live Stats: Friday | Live Stats: Saturday | Live Stats: Sunday
· BTN Plus ($): Friday | BTN Plus ($): Saturday| BTN Plus ($): Sunday
COLUMBUS, Ohio — All eyes from around the college baseball world will be fixed on the Buckeyes’ biggest home series of the year this weekend. In the first ranked Big Ten series in Columbus in recent history, the No. 23 Ohio State baseball team hosts No. 6 Illinois in a Top 25 showdown Friday-Sunday at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium.
The Buckeyes (31-10, 12-3 B1G) have won a season-best seven straight games and sit 1.5 games behind first-place Illinois in the league standings. The Fighting Illini (37-6-1, 13-1 B1G) travel to Columbus with the nation’s longest win streak at 18-consecutive games. It’s a matchup getting a lot of attention from around the nation and for good reason. Both teams rank in the Top 10 in the country in team ERA and in the Top 25 in the most current NCAA RPI poll.
The Scarlet and Gray will carry a 17-4 home record into the 6:35 p.m. ET contest Friday. The teams will meet again at 3:05 p.m. ET Saturday before concluding the series at 1:05 p.m. ET Sunday.
WAYS TO FOLLOW
Links to live stats and live video can be found above. The series will be streamed on BTN Plus ($), while fans can listen online on OhioStateBuckeyes.com or on the radio at AM 1460 ESPN. Follow the action on twitter as well (@OhioState_BASE).
PROMOTIONS
Friday, May 1
· Beach Day
· Academic Advisor Appreciation
· All You Can Eat
· Scout Night
Saturday, May 2
· Alumni Day
o 1965 and 1995 teams recognized before game
Sunday, May 3
· First Responders Appreciation
· Family 4 Pack
ON THE BUMP
Fri: LHP Tanner Tully (4-2, 2.76 ERA) vs. LHP Kevin Duchene (7-1, 0.74 ERA)
Sat: RHP Travis Lakins (3-2, 3.31 ERA) vs. RHP Drasen Johnson (6-2, 2.11 ERA)
Sun: LHP Ryan Riga (5-2, 1.87 ERA) vs. RHP John Kravetz (4-0, 2.92 ERA)
QUICK HITS
· The Buckeyes have won a season-best seven straight games. Last time out, Ohio State swept a road conference series at Northwestern. Ohio State has won all five Big Ten series this year.
· Ohio State is No. 11 in the latest NCAA RPI, which leads the Big Ten. Six B1G schools sit in the Top 32.
· The Buckeyes are ranked in the Top 25 for the first time since the 2010 campaign.
· This is the first matchup in Columbus between two ranked teams since April 15, 2009 (No. 26 OSU vs. No. 24 KSU)
· Ohio State is 17-4 at home and 5-1 in Big Ten games in Columbus.
· The team’s ERA is ninth in the country (2.59), which is second-best in the Big Ten.
· Offensively, Ohio State is first in the conference in stolen bases (65), fourth in batting average (.278) and fifth in on-base percentage (.365), slugging percentage (.408) and in RBI (204).
· Overall, the Buckeyes are hitting .278 as a team led by Pat Porter (.314), while Troy Montgomery is batting .307 with a B1G-best 26 stolen bases. He is nine shy of tying the OSU single-season record (35).
· In Big Ten play, Ohio State is second in ERA (2.36), fourth in slugging (.407) and fifth in batting average (.270).
· The Ohio State pitching staff has collected 22 quality starts, while the offense has claimed seven walk-offf wins.
· The OSU bullpen has collected a 2.73 ERA this season, including a 1.36 ERA in the last 10 games.
· Ryan Riga is 5-2 record with a 1.87 ERA (fourth-best in the Big Ten). He holds a 2-0 mark in Big Ten action with a 1.90 ERA. He boasted a program-record 30.2 scoreless innings streak earlier this season.
· Trace Dempsey is 9-1 with seven saves this season. He is one appearance away from trying the school record of 96 set by Cory Cox (1998-01).
A LOOK AT ILLINOIS
· Illinois sits in first place in the Big Ten with a 13-1 mark and holds the longest active win streak
at 18-games (school-record). The Illini (37-6-1) boast the best winning percentage in the NCAA
(.852) and have been ranked in the Top 10 for three straight weeks.
· UI sits in the top 10 in the nation in four pitching categories: No. 2 in walks allowed per nine innings (1.88) and No. 3 in ERA (2.29), strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.07) and WHIP (1.09).
· UI sits in the top 10 in the nation in four pitching categories: No. 2 in walks allowed per nine innings (1.88) and No. 3 in ERA (2.29), strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.07) and WHIP (1.09).
· llinois leads the Big Ten with 37 home runs and a .424 slugging percentage, while senior DavidKerian is first in the conference with 10 homers.
· Kevin Duchene (0.74) and Tyler Jay (0.78) are first and second, respectively in ERA in the Big Ten.
· Ohio State is 103-97-2 all-time vs. Illinois. The Buckeyes are 53-39-2 vs. UI at home and hold a6-4 advantage in the last 10 meetings in Columbus.
UP NEXT
The Buckeyes will head out on the road again for two midweek, in-state contests. Ohio State faces Miami at 6:35 p.m. ET May 5 in Oxford before traveling to play Cincinnati at 6:30 p.m. ET May 6. The Scarlet and Gray will then wrap up the home schedule against No. 20 Maryland May 10-12 in Columbus.
